Orben Casey 
"Thank you for your humor |
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A vivid and happy childhood memory of mine is that of my dad, Orben, opening the front door of our home on a cold winter evening and stepping out onto our porch to break long, silvery icicles off the eaves. He then came back into our living room where he handed them to my brother and me. We happily sat on the sofa (we called it a 'divan') -our mother between us- and licked the frozen "treats" while our mother read us a bedtime story! This was, of course, in "pre-polution" days!
Our father, Orben J. Casey, business man and Oklahoma historian, died June 27, 2002 after a brief illness. He was born in Hanna, Oklahoma on February 15, 1917, to John J. and Tennie C. Casey, and grew up in Henryetta. He received the Bachelor of Science degree in Business from the University of Oklahoma in 1940, followed by the Master of Arts degree, also from the University of Oklahoma, and the Juris Doctor degree from Oklahoma City University. Most of his career was spent in the construction equipment industry. He retired as Vice President of Finance of the Oklahoma City Caterpillar dealership in 1982. As historian, he was the leading expert on the life of Lee Cruce, Oklahoma's second governor. He published numerous articles on Oklahoma history, including several in the Chronicles of Oklahoma and Orbit Magazine of the Sunday Oklahoman. In 1989, the Oklahoma Heritage Association published his book "And Justice For All: The Legal profession in Oklahoma, 1821-1989" the definitive history of Oklahoma law. It was highly acclaimed by the Oklahoma Bar Association and was featured in its journal on several occasions.
My father married Naomi, our beautiful mother, in 1940. She died on November 21, 1998, just a week before their 58th wedding anniversary.
In addition to Orben's and Naomi's 3 children, Jay, a clinical psychologist, Jan, (that's me) and Jeff, a university professor, our parents had 6 grandchildren (3 of whom can be viewed here) and 5 great-grandchildren all living in other states.
*Words taken and adapted with modifications from the Dan Fogelburg song, "Leader of the Band'
